An imaginary conversation between the mountains and the city underpinned David’s latest collection

Julien David set the scene of his collection with an imaginary conversation between two city-dwelling women sitting on a veranda of a holiday cabin in the mountains, asking each other about their fears and going out into the unknown. With this scripted mise-en-scene, David was trying to draw parallels between the city and the mountains and this parlayed into an ever-expanding collection that still had David’s sense of infusing womenswear with streetwear detailing and fabrications: “The good thing is that right now, I start to play with ideas and techniques and I wanted to try them out in this collection,” he says.

The familiar Tyrolean print upon closer inspection features a city skyline, Hummers and pixelated characters on skateboards

Apres-ski can feel like it’s been done to death but David overturned some conventions to by featuring circular puffa quilting in spongey dresses and skirts. The familiar Tyrolean print upon closer inspection features a city skyline, Hummers and pixelated characters on skateboards. A yeti wool with tufted strands of yarn dotted all over the place was a witty touch especially when followed up by a jumper with a knife on it, as a weapon of defense against anything sinister lurking in the mountains. He also managed to give fleece-lined boots a new lease of life and with the opening looks of slubby grey wool separates, they looked cool rather than naff.

The good thing is that right now, I start to play with ideas and techniques and I wanted to try them out in this collection

David has nailed a way of bringing feminine attire down to earth. The waist-focused, flared out dresses of last season, which turned out to be a hit, were redone, with a layer of nylon mesh underneath to give lightness as well as volume. A houndstooth coat and short set in lemon yellow and powder blue could have easily been a bit ladies-who-lunch but David commissioned a special bi-directional woven houndstooth, which is just one of David’s many fabrication tricks that he can play with his brand being based in Tokyo. Who knew the next wave of fashion from Japan would come from a Frenchman?